Unveiling the secrets of upholstery!

I attended one of the best crafty/sewing classes ever a few months ago. A fantastic upholstery course run by Elisabetta Renwick on the Kapiti Coast. Elisabetta runs the course out of her home in Raumati South.

I came home with...

My very own footstool at home in our bedroom. Love, love, love it!

The course was $170 and you also had to provide a metre of fabric (with specific instructions provided to make sure you got the best bang for your buck and the most suitable material).

The course had four students - so lots of one-on-one instruction when needed. Each of us had a large table, our own compressor staple gun (fun stuff!) and all the materials we needed in our own basket. It felt really organised and her documentation for us to take home was superb. I really can't speak highly enough of the course - I've been to quite a few crafty type classes and lectures (at handmade etc.) recently and its been the best by far.

The very exciting staple gun.

Our own box of tricks - rather a lot more hardware supplies than my normal sewing enterprises!

We started with a basic wooden skeleton (homemade by Elisabetta).

And quickly began adding different upholstery elements - like webbing (apologies if this isn't the right term as the course was a few months ago and I'm not great at remembering terms at the best of times!).

That staple gun is getting a good work out!

Followed by hessian sacking cloth. A nice, neat staple gun finish!

Glue some comfy foam on top (precut to size for us thankfully!) - note, we even got our own bins!

Nice layer of padding/wadding over the top.

Neatly sewing up the sides (don't worry we're definitely not finished with the staple gun) ...

Beginning to look like a footstool!

Not on to the even more fun stuff - the fabric. I had a beautiful teal upholstery weight fabric from Fabrics Direct in Wellington. (With the added bonus of a shop dog - the staff were super friendly and helpful)

Thinking about buttons (also from Fabrics Direct although Elisabetta - in white in the background) offered to provide fabric covered buttons and piping for us too!

Yup, definitely keen on the button and a quick lesson on how to apply it so it doesn't pull out of the footstool and how to get it to tuft as well. Aren't you envious of my neat stapling? (I really, really want an air powered staple gun - one of the many annoyances of not living near my parent's house and my dad's toolshed)

And the final product again -

Comfy, stylish and made by me! Can't argue with that!

The course was expensive but given the amount of materials, tools, size of the class and Elisabetta's teaching ability and knowledge - a serious bargain. The documentation includes where to get the best supplies and I feel capable of moving on to larger pieces of furniture if I need to.

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